Roosevelt Field Mall has Black Friday. Chelsea Market has Small Business Saturday. Even the largest online marketplace, Amazon, has two yearly Prime Day sales events around which to market their wares. No doubt, the retail space has clinched the art of seasonal marketing strategies.
But tapping into the power of the Earth’s rotation isn’t just for businesses hocking knickknacks and other material goods. NYC event planners can use smart seasonal marketing strategies to boost client bookings. In this article, we show you how to use seasonal event marketing to attract business by breaking down the rhythms of seasonal event bookings.
Springtime Marketing Strategies for Event Planners
There’s more blooming in April and May than just flowers. Early spring is when ideas for summer events blossom. Graduations, family reunions, festivals, charity events, and more are on the drawing board. From golf outings to company picnics, event clients are dreaming up ways to get eventgoers outdoors. And they know they have to act fast to book the most coveted outdoor venues. What better way to secure NYC’s top venues than with a powerhouse event planner? Gear up to be the go-to summertime event planner in NYC with these marketing tips.
- Update graphics on your marketing emails, social media posts, and web copy to reflect everything wonderful about springtime. Give their eyes something to feast on after the dreary, wintery months by using warm and bright colors.
- Create content that focuses on outdoor events. Get your audience thinking about summer events. Share photos of outdoor events you’ve planned, share the best outdoor venues in NYC, or create a checklist for planning the perfect garden party.
- Stoke celebration vibes by recognizing obscure holidays. Your online content will be more memorable if you tie it to one of many obscure, but fun, holidays. Share your favorite backyard cocktail recipes on May 6th, also known as Beverage Day. Share a pizza party planning guide in anticipation of Pizza Party Day (May 16th). By adopting obscure holidays for use in your content marketing, you’re creating a celebratory vibe that will inspire your audience to dream big event dreams.
Marketing Event Services in Early Fall
The busy summer months breezed by with nary a free moment to hit up Coney Island. Your springtime event marketing blitz paid off, and rather than being a beach bum, you spent your summer planning dazzling events. But there’s no rest for the weary. The nights may be getting cooler, but bookings for holiday events are heating up.
- Partner up with your favorite vendors for holiday-related content. Double up your brand’s reach when you partner with NYC’s top bakeries, venues, and other event vendors. Host live events, team up on podcasts, or run a social media contest with your favorite go-to vendors. You’ll expand your marketing reach while serving up interesting content for your audience.
- Share corporate holiday party ideas — and their benefits. Crow about the benefits companies get from hosting events, such as holiday parties for their employees. From improved retention to a boost in employee engagement, these benefits improve a business’s bottom line, making employee events an investment with a high ROI. Then, ease their decision fatigue by sharing creative ideas for making their holiday events especially memorable.
- Create a sense of urgency when marketing holiday event planning services. Unlike summer events, most holiday parties must be held indoors. Create a sense of urgency by emphasizing to your audience that the best NYC venues fill up quickly around the holidays. Consider offering early bird discounts.
January & February: Kingpin Months for New Event Bookings
The early spring and fall see a lot of traffic from clients planning seasonal events. But January and February beat them all as companies work with new budgets and family-minded clients make resolutions to get the clan together more often in the coming year. And let’s not forget engagement season. According to The Knot, marriage proposals tend to occur during the merry stretch between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day.
- Reach out to your corporate clients, both past and present. Let them know you’re accepting event bookings for the coming year. Be sure to remind them about your successful collaborations in the past.
- Publish wedding-related content. Focus on the planning aspects of weddings, emphasizing the need to book venues and other vendors early. Publish a free wedding planning guide complete with a timeline to educate newly engaged couples about the months-long process of planning their nuptials.
- Publish tips on planning family reunions, birthday parties, and other celebrations. Focus on large-scale family events that require planning, such as diamond anniversaries and reunions that involve bringing together long-distance family members. Get your audience thinking about the feasibility of a large family event and show them how your event planning services can make the feat easier.
Selling Memories for Every Season
The memories you make for your event clients will last long after their Sam Edelman loafers from Roosevelt Field have gone out of style. When you use smart seasonal marketing strategies, you can be sure to be top of mind for their event planning needs long before Black Friday. By knowing the seasonal ebbs and flows outlined above, you can market the right services at the right time.
You don’t need to rely solely on online marketing avenues. Real-life relationships are always more powerful than digital marketing for client acquisition. Meet prospects face-to-face at The Event Planner Expo. Reap the incredible business-boosting benefits of building offline relationships with leads when you reserve your booth. The Trade Show floor is the place to be this October – especially if you’re serious about elevating your events business!
